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Many organizations that once welcomed donations of cathode ray tube (CRT) televisions or offered free recycling drop-offs no longer accept the aging technology. Others still accept the items, but charge a fee for the service.

But for Grand Rapids residents, there is still a limited window of time to dispose of CRT televisions and monitors for free.

Advanced Technology Recycling (ATR) is offering free drop-offs of CRT-style televisions and monitors, alongside various other types of electronics, at its facility in Wyoming.

The Illinois-based company's current funding source for the program runs through Sept. 30.

"This funding is the last we'll probably see for CRTs," said Brodie Ehresman, ATR's national business development manager.

Ehresman explained that the funding come through an "original equipment manufacturer," a company required by law to help fund electronics recycling programs. The electronic waste takeback program in Michigan is administered through the state's Department of Environmental Quality.

But since manufacturers stopped making CRT televisions a decade ago, Ehresman said that funding source is starting to dry up.

When combined with fluctuations in the commodities market, Ehresman said almost all recycling companies now charge consumers a fee to drop off older televisions, if they accept them at all.

"There's not a lot of value in these metals," he said. "As a result of that, people are not incentivized to recycle. There's no payoff."

Kristen Wieland, a spokesperson for Kent County Department of Public Works, explained that the size, weight and content of the items together make them a challenge to manage.

"They're basically the most troublesome of all electronics to collect," Wieland said.

At one time, she said, the leaded glass found in old televisions could be recycled for use making new televisions and monitors. But as technology progressed and flatscreen monitors became the norm, it required processors to undertake the much more costly process of separating the lead from the glass.

"It's so involved and so expensive," Wieland said.

With flatscreen televisions becoming the standard, free drop-offs for CRT-style televisions have become an increasingly rare thing. And the devices, categorized as a "hazardous waste" by the Environmental Protection Agency, should not simply be thrown out with the trash.

At the same time, there are still plenty of the older TVs in circulation.

"The TVs were coming in so fast that there was a line of cars at their drop-off centers," he said. "None of us were prepared to handle that number of people coming to drop these TVs off. It was absolutely off-the-chart crazy."

Ehresman said the campaign quickly blew past its collection goal with Kent County and, in two months, collected about as many units as were processed in the three years prior.

Though some of that might be due to steps the county took to promote the drop-off, Wieland and Ehresman agreed the response illustrated the need in the community.

"The message we received from residents were that there were a lot more of these floating around in people's basements and garages than we thought," Ehresman said.

Though it's uncertain exactly how many of the TVs are left, he said the company is working to spread the word about their program while it's still available.

"We don't know how many of these devices are left in circulation," Ehresman said. "The goal is to flush these out of the system."

For those willing to pay a fee, there are other options to recycle old CRT televisions and monitors.

Kent County's Department of Public Works accepts the items at its three recycling drop-off facilities, but charges a fee dependent on monitor size that ranges from $20-50. For those unable to pay the fee, Wieland said the county will also refer residents to the free drop-off service offered in Grand Rapids by Advanced Technology Recycling.

Grand Rapids-based nonprofit Compurenew Environmental also offers a variety of recycling services and accepts a large list of items without a fee. One exception is CRT televisions and monitors, for which the nonprofit charges a fee of $7-50 depending on size.

Comprenew President Scott VanderKooy pointed out though Compurenew charges to accept the old televisions, most other electronics can be dropped off for free.

"We're confident that, if you add everything up, Comprenew is still the lowest-cost option," VanderKooy said.